


Blue Book Value

by leiascully



Category: Sports Night
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-13
Updated: 2012-12-13
Packaged: 2017-11-21 00:36:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/591453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leiascully/pseuds/leiascully
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kim keeps two sets of books, and she always pays it forward.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blue Book Value

**Author's Note:**

  * For [athenejen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/athenejen/gifts).



Casey stares at Danny with that look he thinks is deadpan that actually makes him look like some kind of stoned high schooler. "Tell me you didn't say what I think you just said."

Danny shrugs. It's cute, in that oh-so-Danny way. Kim appreciates it when a guy can actually sort of pull off the schoolboy charm. She twirls a lock of hair around her finger and watches as Danny perches on a table. "Sorry, Case. It's a non-story."

Casey puts his hands on his hips. "It was a story four hours ago. What happened?"

"What happened is that it's a non-story," Danny says. "Nothing to see here. Actually, nothing to see at all."

"Because it's a non-story?" Casey asks, his chin high and his voice wry.

"Because it's a non-story," Danny confirms. 

"Not off limits?" Casey asks. "Because you know how I feel about that, Danny."

"I do, Casey," Danny says. "I know about your commitment to relevant journalism and your passion for hunting down the absolute truth of a good story. But this isn't one of them. Apparently it never was."

Casey jerks his head in that way he does when he wants to swear but he's too Midwestern. "So we're ten minutes short."

"We are, in fact, ten minutes short," Danny agrees.

"What're we gonna do?" Casey asks quietly, crossing his arms.

"Dana already vetoed my monologue on why soccer is a pointless waste of time," Danny tells him. "Likewise ten minutes on the joys of yacht racing. Likewise Jeremy's ideas, which were all about atmospheric conditions or something."

"The gathering storm," Jeremy puts in. "Philistines, all of you. You have no appreciation for the game."

Casey scoffs. "Right, Jeremy, that's why I'm a sports reporter." 

"No appreciation for the finer points," Jeremy clarifies.

"All the parts where nothing's happening?" Casey asks. "I'll give you that."

"Don't listen to them, Jeremy," Natalie says. "Anyway, she didn't like my idea either. I told her you guys should take your clothes of on the air. The World Series of Strip Poker."

"I don't even know where to start with how wrong you are about poker," Danny says, bumping his shoulder against Natalie's. 

"I don't know where to start on this ten minutes we've got to fill," Casey says. "That was a hell of a non-story."

"It really was," Danny says, shaking his head. "But Case - I know someone who has the answer to all our prayers."

"We're gonna owe her," Casey says. 

"Yeah, but it's like the national debt," Danny says. "She knows we'll never pay it back. It's the principle of the thing."

"I'm right here, Danny," Kim says.

"Yeah," Casey says, "Don't talk about how we're never gonna pay her back when she's right there." He pauses. "He's right though."

"Don't I know it," Kim says, leaning back in her chair. "Still, a little effort never hurts."

Danny saunters over. "Dinner for two at your favorite restaurant?"

Kim raises one eyebrow.

"Not with me," Danny adds hastily. "Person of your choice. I know I think well of myself, but not _that_ well. Give me a little credit."

"Fine," Kim says. 

Danny points at her. "You're a lifesaver, Kim." 

"Casey?" Kim says. 

"A favor?" Casey says. "A big one."

Kim stares at him and taps her toe. 

"And a bottle of something really nice for your birthday?" Casey offers. "And I'll talk Dana into wherever you pick for the Christmas party."

"Natalie?"

"I'll let you kiss Jeremy at the Christmas party," Natalie says.

Kim rolls her eyes.

Natalie sighs. "I'll give you the number of that guy I know you thought was cute."

"Perfect," says Kim.

"Ten minutes?" Danny asks, clasping his hands.

"I'll get you something worth fifteen, just to be safe," Kim tells him.

"You're the man," Danny tells her. 

"Or whatever," Casey adds hastily.

"I know," Kim says. She picks up the phone and makes it happen. She was always going to, but it's just too much fun to watch them squirm, and too good a chance to pass up. 

Yeah, they owe her big time.

\+ + + +

_10/31/99_

_GC came over after Halloween party. Dressed as vampire king. Yawn. On the other hand, fangs made things interesting, and he displayed a lot more imagination in bed. Might see him again. Hopefully he's not the clingy type._

_6.5" Good kisser. Very dedicated to oral. 20 mins._

\+ + + +

Kim doesn't worry too much about the rise and fall of CSC. She bought a couple of shares of stock in the company way back when Sports Night started, but her portfolio isn't what lets her sleep easy at night. Kim has something a lot better than stock options, and that's her little black book. Her little black book is full of names and numbers, every connection she's ever made, and she's made a lot.

Kim likes to think of herself as a people person, after all. She might be the only person in the entire staff who's actually good with people, aside from Isaac. Fortunately, she likes people and people like her. They like her a lot. In fact, most of the names in her little black book would be willing to do nearly anything for her. Kim's racked up a lot of favors in her day. Her little black book will probably carry her through if Sports Night goes under. She's got five or six numbers of people who've sworn they'll hire her even if they have to create a job for her, and ten or twenty more who'd help her find something.

Actually, her little black book has saved her show more than once. Without her, Sports Night would be 80% Danny's monologues and Casey's misguided non sequiturs. Dana forgets something or Casey's "charm" fails or Jeremy says entirely the wrong thing as usual and it's all up to Kim to fix things up. She flips through the pages, chooses the right person, and makes the call. Nobody ever says no. She makes sure of it. She's been paying it forward since preschool, when she had every kid in her class wrapped around her tiny little finger. Everyone gets what they want. Everyone stays happy. 

Even better than the little black book is her little blue book, which stays locked up in the fire safe her overprotective parents made her buy when she moved to New York. "You never know what will happen!" her mother had said. She sounded so worried that Kim relented. Of course, that was the day her elevator went out and she had to lug the stupid thing up three flights of stairs before one of her strong young manly neighbors came along and helped her out. Kim thanked him with a beer, and then, because after all he was strong and manly, she taught him how to kiss properly. She believes firmly that kissing is a skill that everyone should have. She doesn't mind doing the lipwork to make sure that's true of any potential partners, and he was certainly willing and able. He left with a smile on his face, and Kim wrote his number in her little black book, and made a few notes in her little blue book.

\+ + + +

"Kim?" Dana leans out of the conference room. "Did you get that thing?"

"You're going to have to be more specific," Kim tells her.

"The thing," Dana says, gesturing. "With the, you know, the thing."

"Your sandwich?" Kim guesses. "A headache?"

Dana stares at her. "You're my headache."

"No, Casey's your headache," Kim tells her.

Dana winces. "My interview. Did you get my interview?"

"The one which must not be named?" Kim smirks. "Yep."

"You are a lifesaver," Dana tells her. "You are literally saving my life."

"I know," Kim says.

"I owe you a _really_ big favor," Dana says. "And shoes. I owe you shoes."

"Saturday morning," Kim tells her.

Dana nods. "Yes, good. And Kim?"

"Let's never speak of this again?" Kim guesses.

Dana nods happily. "You're so good. You're the _best_."

"Does that come with a raise?" Kim asks. 

"Sadly, no," Dana tells her. "But! Shoes! Saturday!"

Kim shrugs. "Good enough for now."

\+ + + +

_5/4/96_

New York, New York. Hope not all the men are like AJ. A man with that kind of equipment ought to know how to use it. Then he fell asleep and I had to wake him up so I could kick him out.

7.5" Dullsville. 3 mins plus 2 mins of "foreplay". Half-hearted groping is not foreplay.

\+ + + +

The little blue book is where the money is, so to speak. It's her security, her insurance. She would never, ever publish it with her name attached, of course, and she'd probably change the rest of the names (unless she was really desperate or verging-on-nuclear-meltdown angry), but she likes knowing it's there if she needs it. Hell, she'd probably rewrite the whole thing before she sent it to anyone. It doesn't read like real life to start with. As long as she's at it, she might as well give herself a new name and a _Sex in the City_ wardrobe and the kind of apartment with the closets to contain all those shoes. 

The numbers in the little blue book won't get you anyone on the other end of the phone. They're statistics, measurements, and times. Kim, for all that she chose to go into television, has a scientific mind, and she likes precision and accuracy and data tables. Her parents went into a tailspin of despair when she chose broadcasting over mathematics, but the guys in the statistics classes were all creepy nerds who leered at her short skirts. At least the guys she works with now are moderately cleaned-up nerds who leer respectfully. For the most part, anyway. That doesn't mean most of them are blue book material.

\+ + + +

_6/19/97_

_Wedding ushers. You can never go wrong with wedding ushers. Something about watching other people get hitched makes me want to have rampant one-night stands. Fortunately MS felt the same. Up against the wall in the bride's dressing room, and then again after a couple of glasses of champagne on a bench in the garden at the reception. Keeping his number. He might even get to stay long enough to bring me breakfast._

_5". Plenty of talent. Extremely flexible. Lost track of time._

\+ + + + 

"Hey, Kim?" Danny says, hanging out of his office door.

"Got it," she says, holding up a piece of paper.

Danny kisses her on the head in a surprisingly not-creepy way. "Perfect."

"I ate your sandwich," she tells him.

"I don't even care," he says, turning on his heel. "You're magic." 

"Can I have your office?" she calls after him. 

"If you can pry Casey out of it!"

\+ + + +

It isn't about blackmail. It was never about blackmail. She doesn't do it for favors or tickets or interviews or anything else anyone might accuse her of. Kim just really, really likes sex. She _really_ likes sex. She refuses to feel bad about it. God bless her parents, who only ever wanted her to be the perfect daughter and have the perfect life, but if she started feeling guilty about all the ways she hasn't lived up to that, she'd never stop. On the other hand, her idea of a perfect life is pretty much the one she's living, so as far as she's concerned, she's coming out ahead. 

She likes keeping a record almost as much as she enjoys the sex itself. It's just so satisfying to flip through the pages of her little blue book and remember. She can compare and contrast, weigh pros and cons of encountering each person again without her emotions or her blood alcohol level getting in the way. She's careful, but she likes a drink or two, and champagne bubbles do tend to lower her standards a little bit. 

Unlike Danny, Kim likes soccer players. She likes baseball players and basketball players and football players and runners and bikers, but mostly soccer players. Something about that leanness and those thighs gets her going. There are a lot of soccer players in her little blue book, and most of them have stars by their names and still call her up when they're in town. 

In general, Kim doesn't have many dealbreakers. She doesn't take people home if they're going to get clingy - she's still a little afraid that if she let someone stick around, she'd turn into her mother and start craving babies. She loves her career and her current life too much to complicate it with a kid or a serious relationship. Just about the only other thing Kim won't compromise on is protection. She's got a sex-positive gynecologist who delights in hearing about Kim's life; she's got an IUD that's good for another three years; and she's got a few names highlighted in her blue book with big red Xs through them. Kim doesn't have any patience with men who don't have the maturity to bring and wear a condom. Not that she believes in some golden age when unprotected sex was a good idea, but this definitely isn't one. She's not going to lose her life or her health for the sake of any man. Or any woman for that matter. There aren't as many ladies in her little blue book as there are men, but there are a few. Life is short, after all, and it's meant to be enjoyed.

She means to enjoy every minute of it.

\+ + + +

_1/20/96_

_Considered going for CM or DR. Both bad ideas. Some crazy triangle god-knows-what going on with CM and DW and possibly also DR. Also get the feeling DR would try too hard and CM wouldn't try hard enough. Holding off until I can confirm suspicions._

_NH possibly a better candidate. On the other hand, kind of crazy. Just like everyone else who works here. Nice legs. Probably thinks she's a wildcat in bed. Possibly right. Tempting._

_NB: Christmas party makeouts don't count. Try to make them not count as much as possible. D & W good prospects._

_Also note: Too many Ds._

\+ + + + 

They're sliding through the last few blocks, the boys really making it sparkle tonight. Dana murmurs her constant little worried directions and Natalie snaps to attention, all energy despite the fact that the baby's been keeping her and Jeremy up. Kim adjusts the pressure of the cushioned headphones and makes the adjustments she needs to make, checking a few facts just to make sure they're not going to get a lot of mail after the show. After all these years and all this technology, Danny and Casey are still up there flubbing the numbers and ad-libbing nonsense and Elliott's still convinced that Reykjavík is in Finland. But they stay on the script tonight, thank god - Kim's got a date after the show and she doesn't have time to make them clean up after themselves. She thinks this one might be a frequent entry in the blue book - she's already set aside a couple of pages, just in case.

Kim isn't running the network and she isn't running the show, but that's all right. She doesn't have an apartment crammed to the gills with lamps and she's not tearing out her hair. In fact, she sleeps fine at night, and frequently she's not alone. Most days it's enough to know that Sports Night would be worse without her, and honestly, it's nice to have Dave and Chris and Will and Elliott eating out of the palm of her hand. If she got another job, she'd have to train a whole new staff to love her and despair. It just doesn't seem worth it. 

On camera, Danny and Casey wrap up and sign off. She sits back in her chair and takes her headphones off.

"Good show," Dana calls. "Good show, everybody!" She leans over. "Thanks, Kim."

"Any time," Kim says with a smile.


End file.
